Avoiding Tick Trouble

Here are some tips to help you avoid tick trouble this summer and still enjoy the great outdoors:

If you live in a wooded area, remove leaves, brush and tall grass from around the house and the edges of the garden where immature ticks often feed.

When you're hiking or camping in wooded areas, wear light-colored clothing so that you can spot any ticks that hitch a ride.

Wear long pants and tuck the legs into socks or boots to keep ticks from reaching your skin.

Spray insect repellent containing DEET on clothes and exposed skin; DEET can be safely used on both children and adults, but follow directions to reduce the chance of toxicity. Permethrin, which kills ticks on contact, can be applied to clothes.

Stick to the middle of hiking trails to avoid brushing against leaves or grasses where ticks lie in wait.

Once you get home, inspect yourself carefully. Use a mirror to check difficult-to-observe parts of your body.

If you find a tick, don't panic. Removing it promptly greatly reduces the chance of infection. Embedded ticks should be removed with fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull straight out. The tick's mouth parts may remain in the skin, but don't be alarmed; the bacteria that cause Lyme disease are contained in the tick's midgut. Then cleanse the area with an antiseptic. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products.

Although it is best to have any tick bite examined by a doctor, this is especially true if a rash more than an inch wide appears at the site of a bite or if you develop flu-like symptoms anytime within a month after being bitten.